Customer Reviews

The most helpful favourable review

The most helpful critical review

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 starsI'm only looking for fun...
As others have said, I was sceptical about the quality or necessity of yet another remastering of all the clash material.I purchased this to sample the quality before deciding whether to shell out on the box set (not the sound system, I can't justify spending £100 and I'm a bit old for badges, posters, etc).Not all tracks immediately struck me as vastly...

As others have said, I was sceptical about the quality or necessity of yet another remastering of all the clash material.I purchased this to sample the quality before deciding whether to shell out on the box set (not the sound system, I can't justify spending £100 and I'm a bit old for badges, posters, etc).Not all tracks immediately struck me as vastly different, London Calling sounds very similar to the 1999 remaster to me (although superior at lower volumes), but most leap out with a crispness & vitality previously missing. It's almost as if the sound has been polished clean with elements being heard that were inaudible before.Tracks that benefit most are the not so raucous ones, like Bankrobber, Train In Vain, Ghetto Defendant, Guns Of Brixton and Armagideon Time. The mighty (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais deserves special mention, it's worth the price just to hear this one track sparkle like it should, with bouncing bass, ringing treble and high hat splashing.The benefits of this album are that if you buy the £30 box set then you won't get the aforementioned 'White Man' or Bankrobber, This is Radio Clash, Clash City Rockers, Complete Control and Armagideon Time, so you've got the remasters of those. Also I like the fact that I can play tracks (like a playlist) from a cross section of albums etc, I know I could do this on my ipod but the sound from the CD over my system is superior (and I prefer to listen to CDs at home).

All in all a good purchase which has revitalised my passion for 'the only band that matters'

I was a little sceptical about how the remastered tracks would sound, but after listening through twice i'm thrilled. The heavyweight vinyl, touching sleeve note and poster made the whole experience of my first listen pretty much unbeatable and not to sound cheesy but I love the fact I was listening to the tracks in the order Joe once meant them to be heard. The sound quality is excellent, the delivery was speedy and safe and i'm pleased to add this record to my collection.

The place to start if you're looking to investigate the Clash (next London Calling, then everything else except Cut the Crap). The sound of these remastered tracks is a huge improvement on the perfectly serviceable 1999 remasters and makes the investment in yet another Clash comp well worthwhile for those of us that fall for it each time. Highly recommended as is the 2013 remastered album box set.

OK, so all of the Clash fans out there already know the songs, or at least most of them. This compilation was built around a setlist knocked out by Joe Strummer for a 1982 gig. This ensures a high hit rate as far as fan faves go, although sometime fans want more. It is a decent trawl right across all of their albums, bar the Cut the Crap one, and as such gives a great over view of their output.

Soundwise this is a first class job. Great separation of vocals and instruments, not just a quick twiddle on the eq knob to give a cleaner top end. I remember this stuff when it came out and remember the buzz that I got when I bought the albums, the first one in particular. Hearing these cleaned up versions really brought that buzz back. Janie Jones really rips out of the stereo in a way that previous versions have failed to do.

I got this just to hear if the remasters were going to be worth buying as stand alone albums. Going by this I reckon I will be flogging off the old versions and getting these.